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Laws do not “Protect,” they Restrain – sorta, kinda, maybe sometimes

…only the law-abiding follow the laws, so more laws that limit only the law-abiding only make the law-abiding less able to defend themselves. So if the law won’t stop criminals from doing bad things, what is it good for?
…Laws protect the law-breaker, not the law abider. No amount of law will prevent a criminal or crazy from raping, robbing, or murdering. It will prevent me from personally exacting “justice” upon those people. It will guide how I respond to a person who commits those crimes, but it won’t stop them from being committed in the first place. (emphasis added)

As Jennifer repeats, The law does not protect you, nor does it bind those who would defy it. All the law serves to do is act as an avenue of prosecution and punishment. As Sean points out, it protects the law breaker. Even those sworn to enforce the law can do nothing until after the law is broken.

An example of a law that is NOTHING and protects the unlawful is this: the Supreme Court held in its’ 1968 Haynes decision that felons could not be required to register firearms, as doing so would be a violation of their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination. So felons, those criminal law-breakers, are indemnified against any self incrimination that involves the illegal use of illegal guns! So where’s that “Gun-show Loophole” now? How on earth does that have any EFFECT on anything? It doesn’t. And neither does waiting-periods have any measurable effect – except on the law-abiding.
It Is Not Gun Control; It Is Citizen Disarmament and Control.
The 2nd Amendment is not about ALLOWING guns or granting a particular Freedom or Right – Government doesn’t grant RIGHTS, we have them BEFORE Government – it’s about PREVENTING Government from monopolizing Civil Violence – the Citizenry can still act to quell the bad guys AND especially when the Bad Guys have taken-over the Government and run it as their own shake-down racket.

CORRINNE BROWN (D-FL): Failed to pay unemployment taxes to the state of Florida; sued by several airlines for unpaid bills and falsified travel reports; failed to report sale of her Tallahassee travel agency; improperly reported the sale of her Gainesville travel agency; sued by Whirlpool Corp. for unpaid bills; pursued by the IRS for $14,228 in unpaid taxes; investigations by the House Ethics Committee for possible acceptance of bribes; refused to file reports in the House about potential conflicts of interest while overseeing airlines she dealt with through her travel agencies; charged with money laundering.

TONY COELHO (D-CA): Currently under investigation for fraud while serving as U.S. Commissioner General of Expo ’98 in Lisbon, Portugal.* He was Al Gore’s primary presidential campaign manager until he resigned citing health reasons.

REP. BOB DORNAN (R-CA): In 1983 attempted to leave Grenada with a stolen AK-47. It was confiscated by the Army and destroyed.

REP. WALTER FAUNTROY (D-DC): Financial disclosure misdemeanor (1995).

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA): Accessory to a male prostitute who ran a whorehouse in their Washington townhouse.

STATE REP. ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL): From the 1998 Almanac of American Politics: “He was impeached by the House of Representatives by a vote of 426-3 in 1988 and convicted and removed from office by the Senate by a vote of 69-26. The impeachment arose from allegations that Hastings conspired with a friend to accept $150,000 for giving two convicted swindlers a break in sentencing. Hastings was acquitted in a criminal trial in 1983, but the friend was convicted. In the House, the case for impeachment was made by John Conyers, senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Removed from the bench, Hastings was unapologetic.”

SEN. JESSE HELMS (R-NC): In 1990, the Helms campaign sent out 125,000 postcards primarily to black North Carolina voters claiming that they might not be able to vote, and would be prosecuted for vote fraud if they tried. His campaign, the North Carolina Republican party, and four consulting and marketing firms were charged with violations of the Voting Rights Act. The Helms campaign signed an admission of guilt (claiming later that they didn’t have the money to fight it in court), but Helms and his staff were never prosecuted.

REP. EDWARD MEZVINSKY (D-IA): Indicted in March of 2001 on federal fraud charges. Claimed that he developed mental problems after using a malaria drug called Lariam. “Clearly, the responsibility lies with the manufacturers,” claimed Mezvinsky’s lawyer, Michael Barrett.*

REP. JAMES MORAN (D-VA): Charged with spousal abuse, and assault and battery. A regular instigator of bar fights while mayor of Alexandria, VA, his position made him immune to arrest. Once said he thought about becoming a boxer because “I like to hit people.”

SEN. BOB PACKWOOD (R-OR): Charged with sexual harassment. Oddly enough, many of the women named as harassees defended Senator Packwood.

REP. CARL PERKINS (D-KY): In 1994 pleaded guilty to filing a false financial-disclosure statement, conspiracy to file false statements with the Federal Election Commission, and bank fraud. Sentenced in March of 1995.

REP. MEL REYNOLDS (D-IL): In 1995 was convicted of having sex with a minor and obstructing justice.

CHARLIE ROSE (D-NC): Financial disclosure irregularities (1994).

REP. DAN ROSTENKOWSKI (D-IL): Illegally converted official funds to his personal use and mail fraud; accused in 1996 of embezzling $700,000 from the federal government, he was charged with 13 of the original 17 counts against him. Went to prison after serving in Congress; now back in Washington working as a lobbyist.

REP. LARRY SMITH (D-FL): In 1993 was convicted of income tax evasion and campaign-reporting violations.

REP. PAT SWINDALL (R-GA): In 1988 was convicted of perjury.

REP. JIM TRAFICANT (D-OH): Indicted on 5/4/01 by a Cleveland, OH federal grand jury for bribery, tax evasion, racketeering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Found guilty of all charges in April 2002.

REP. WALTER TUCKER (D-CA): Federal extortion charges; convicted of accepting $30,000 worth of bribes while a Congressman, and sentenced to 27 months in the federal penitentiary.

CHARLES WILSON (D-TX): In 1995 was forced to pay a $90,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission.

217 members of Congress escaped tickets and/or arrest from a variety of driving offenses, ranging from speeding to DUI in 1999 due to Congressional immunity, and 84 members of Congress were released after being pulled over for drunken driving in 1998 by claiming Congressional immunity.

Two-time AMA Superbike champ and Suzuka 8-hour winner Wes Cooley, Jr. is the son of former Congressman Wes Cooley, Sr. The family originally hailed from SoCal, but Cooley, Sr. relocated to Bend, Oregon some time in the late ’80s or early ’90s, if I remember correctly.
The elder Cooley was an AMA racer, too, back in the ’50s or ’60s. When exactly he turned into a serial liar I don’t know….